Home/Tournament Coverage/One Of The Most Talked About Tournaments Didn’t Disappoint – Let’s Recap 2018’s Ledgestone Open

One Of The Most Talked About Tournaments Didn’t Disappoint – Let’s Recap 2018’s Ledgestone Open

The start of summertime tends to be synonymous with talks about the current year’s Ledgestone Open in Eureka, Illinois, and whether it’s the potential to win serious amounts of cash or the copious amounts of OB, there’s always a lot of chatter on the internet. This year was no different, as disc golf fans were on the edge of their seats wondering who would be the one to take home first place.

Exciting and dramatic almost don’t do it justice, as the Open division had some pretty incredible events take place to lead Nate Sexton to victory. On the ladies’ side of competition, the usual names were scattered across the scoreboard and ended up granting Jessica Weese the win. Let’s see how the action unfolded!

Playing Smart

A big arm doesn’t necessarily guarantee success at the Ledgestone Open, as the Lake Eureka course incorporates OB, water, and just enough trees to force players to take calculated risks instead of going for distance. After Thursday’s round, it was clear that this event would not look like many of the others.

Although we saw the likes of Garrett Gurthie, AJ Risley, and Nate Sexton near the top of the list, typically strong performing players didn’t fare so well. Paul McBeth shared 38th place after day one, and Ricky Wysocki managed to put himself nine back from the number one position. Ledgestone favorites Eagle McMahon and Simon Lizotte were absent from this year’s tournament.

The women’s division alternated between courses at Northwood and Sunset, and while Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen played pretty clean on Thursday, it was Jessica Weese who came out of the gate with a clear intention to win.

Lots Of Changes

Friday and Saturday were both responsible for quite the shuffle in the men’s field, and while some players dropped down after battling with the grueling course, others finally figured it out and excelled. One such player really had things click for him, as AJ Risley rose to the lead card and stayed there through the final round on Sunday.

The FPO competitors also took matters into their own hands as each gave it their all to beat out Weese’s 953-rated round on Thursday. Friday saw Rebecca Cox shoot bogey-free and Saturday Sarah Hokom dished out a 999-rated round to put herself in contention for the win.

Dealing With The Pressure

Disc golf doesn’t only require amazing skills to shoot the lowest score possible but it takes a strong amount of mental determination to either grab hold of or maintain a lead. Weese was victorious in doing just that and narrowly edged out Hokom by two strokes to take home her first Ledgestone title.

For AJ Risley, his luck wasn’t quite as strong. Despite going into the final round with a few strokes over second place, the pressure got to him and he ended up shooting even for the day after taking an 8 on hole 9. Ultimately rising through the ranks was Nate Sexton, who secured his first Ledgestone win over Chris Dickerson. Sexton was rewarded with a huge prize of $7,000 and will no doubt have even more confidence as he moves on to the next DGPT stop at Maple Hill.

Congratulations to this year’s winners – we can’t wait to see what Ledgestone has in store for 2019!

Newsletter

SHARE THIS STORY, CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM

Her passion for disc golf and writing come together seamlessly as Courtney writes for some of the biggest names in the disc golf industry. As the co-owner of Author-Eyes, her creative studio based in Oregon, she's committed to developing content that engages and inspires.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The spirit of Dude Disc Golf Apparel is based entirely on our love for the frisbee. Time stands still with the vision of a disc in flight, offering a great sense of fun and freedom for all involved. The Dude range of clothing was created to empower the individual player and capture the imaginings of every player. Every sport has its special line of clothing and now disc has too.

ADDRESS:

Socialise with us

Copyright 2018 Dude Clothing | All Rights Reserved

Don Wilchek joined the disc golf competition in the late 70’s and early 80’s. He is known for his thumber roller and became the most consistent and “winningest” player of the sport. He became a board member, co-tournament director, and course designer in the 2002 Huston PDGA Worlds. He humbly represented disc golf in a friendly, positive way and inspired new players to become avid disc golfers.